The invention relates generally to bale processors and more particularly to a bale processor system and apparatus for removing twine from the bale processor rollers.
Bale processors have achieved widespread use for the shredding of both round and square bales as feed or bedding for animals since they represent a quick and efficient manner for operators to shred and distribute crop materials.
Both square and round bales are held together using twine or some other similar type of cord during storage. These cords are made to be very durable so that they will not deteriorate under various weather and storage conditions. For simplicity, the common term twine will be used in the present specification to cover all of the different types of cords used in baling crop materials.
Since the twine is required to be durable, it has been found that it is usually not cut up and discharged during the bale disintegration process, but rather wraps itself around one or other of the rollers in the bale processor. Since the disintegrator roller is the one that shreds the bale material and since it rotates so rapidly, the twine has a tendency to wrap itself around the disintegrator roller rather then any other part of the machine. Efforts have been made in the past to cut the twine away with a knife or an electric twine cutter. However, this process has been found to be time consuming and back-breaking since an operator has to climb into the processor itself and slash away at the twine that is tightly wrapped about the cylindrical roller.
To ease this burden, operators have been known to weld a rod along the length of the disintegrator roller so that the twine is lifted somewhat from its surface so that the twine may be more easily accessed for cutting. This had the effect of unbalancing the roller to some extent which could cause long term damage to the machine.
In Canadian Patent 2,202,014 which issued on Mar. 20, 2001 to Kjenner, a twine removing system is described wherein a xe2x80x9cCxe2x80x9d shaped track is welded to the disintegrator roller and a knife, which has laterally projecting feet to engage the track, is placed in and pulled through the track from one end of the roller to the other by a cable. The system further includes counterbalancing weights secured to the roller to maintain concentric shaft rotation. This system is somewhat unwieldy since it requires an opening to be cut in each of the front and back walls of the processor, and the roller must be rotated to line-up the track with the openings in the walls so that the track may be accessed from outside the processor. The cable must then be threaded through the track, which may be clogged with straw and other debris, followed by the knife. Finally, the end of the cable must be connected to a winch or some other motorized element to pull the knife through the guiding track. If all of the twine is not cut during the first pass, the process must be started over again. In addition, the track may be damaged by the flails as they swing back against the disintegrator roller.
Therefore, there is a need for a convenient and efficient bale processor system and apparatus for removing the twine from rollers of the bale processor.
The invention is directed to an apparatus for cutting twine that is wrapped around a bale processor roller. The twine cutter a blade holder has a front end and a back end, the holder further has a top edge that is bevelled to a wedge shape at the front end, a back edge and a base edge. A drive mechanism is fixed to the holder for driving the holder back or forth. A cutter blade is fixed to the holder such that a cutting edge is bevelled towards the front of the holder and a further cutting edge is bevelled towards the back of the holder thereby being able to cut twine when the holder is driven forward or backward.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention, the drive mechanism is an elongated handle with one end fixed to the holder back end.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the cutter blade has two sections, the first blade section is fixed to the front end of the holder and the second blade section is fixed to the back end of the holder. Alternately, the cutter blade is a single blade with the upper portion of the blade having a substantially triangular profile. One end of the blade is fixed to the front end of the holder and the other end is fixed to the back end of the holder. The cutter blade may further include a sharpened hook shaped section used to snag and cut twine. The hook shaped section can be positioned at the apex of the triangular upper portion of the single blade.
In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, the holder may be constructed of two planar sections with the cutter blade fixed between the two sections. Alternately, the holder may be a single planar section with the cutter blade fixed to one side of the planar holder section. The base edge may also be substantially planar or have a curvilinear cross-section.
The invention is further directed to a disintegrator roller for a bale processor. The roller comprises an elongated roller arranged to rotate in one direction about its axis with a number of flails intermittently spaced along the length and around the circumference of the roller. Each of the fails are mounted within a support that is fixed to the surface of the roller such that the flails pivot freely in a plane in their direction of rotation. The roller further includes a bar fixed to the surface of the roller and to the supports facing the direction of rotation of the roller. The cross-section of the bar may take any shape, typically it would have a substantially rectangular cross-section.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, support gussets are positioned between the supports and are fixed to the bar and the roller. The bars and the gussets may be welded in place. The edge of the supports are at an angle xcex8 to a plane perpendicular to the roller, where 0xc2x0xe2x89xa6xcex8≲30xc2x0.
In accordance with a further aspect of this invention, the roller comprises an elongated roller arranged to rotate in one direction about its axis with a number of flails intermittently spaced along the length and around the circumference of the roller. Each of the fails are mounted within a support that is fixed to the surface of the roller such that the flails pivot freely in a plane in their direction of rotation. The roller further includes rubber bumpers mounted so as to prevent the back of the flail from contacting the roller. Each bumper may be a bar of high impact rubber mounted on the roller along its length.
The present invention is further directed to a system for cutting twine from the disintegrator roller in a bale processor that comprises a container having a back wall and a front wall, a disintegrator roller of the type outlined above that is mounted within the container between the back wall and the front wall and an opening located in the back wall and/or the front wall through which a twine cutter may be driven for cutting twine along the roller.
In accordance with another aspect of this invention, a twine cutter of the type outlined above is used to effectively cut twine wrapped around the roller.